News

AirUCI Co-Director Sergey Nizkorodov and AirUCI collaborator Christian George of the National Center for Scientific Research at the University of Lyon, France, have published a paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that offers a new understanding of how hydroxide (OH) molecules help clear the atmosphere of human-emitted pollutants and greenhouse gases.  They found that a strong electric field that exists at the interface between airborne water droplets and the surrounding air can create OH by a previously unknown mechanism.  “OH is a key player in the story of atmospheric chemistry.  It initiates the reactions that break down airborne pollutants and helps to remove noxious chemicals such as sulfur dioxide and nitric oxide, which are poisonous gases, from the atmosphere,” says Christian, lead author on the study. 

The current common assumption is that sunlight is the chief driver of OH formation in the atmosphere.  Their research found that OH production rates in darkness mirror those and even exceed rates from drivers like sunlight exposure.  “Enough OH will be created to compete with other known OH sources,” said Sergey.  “At night, when there is no photochemistry, OH is still produced and it is produced at a higher rate than would otherwise happen.” " In the pure water itself, OH can be created spontaneously by the special conditions on the surface of the droplets.”  Read the article

On Monday, March 27th, AirUCI faculty Jim Smith and his research group will host a visit by Coty Jen of Carnegie Mellon University.  Prof. Jen will be meeting with Jim's team and other AirUCI faculty to tour our labs and discuss collaborative research projects.

AirUCI faculty Jun Wu was interviewed about her recent study published in The Lancet Regional Health – Americas showing that exposure to green space and tree coverage was associated with a decreased risk of postpartum depression among mothers. “This is the first study of its kind that examined the relationship between diverse green spaces, postpartum depression, and the role of physical activity,” said Jun, and it suggests that city planners and public health professionals should develop policies and interventions that increase the amount of tree coverage to create a beneficial environment for community members.  Read the article

In an Associated Press article published March 2nd, AirUCI faculty Steve Davis is quoted about his recent study published in Science on the increasingly dry conditions of boreal forests and the corresponding risk of wildfires in far northern regions.  “This warming that’s massing in the Arctic and boreal regions is going to continue,” said Steve.  Much attention has been paid to wildfires in the western United States, tropical rainforests such as the Amazon and even the Australian bush, but boreal forests have received less attention.  "That’s disturbing," Steve said, because there is a lot of carbon stored in these northern ecosystems, which are among the most rapidly warming on the planet.  Read the article  Read the UCI article with additional details.